Even more changes developed in 1999 when Viacom acquired CMT. CMT was placed in a group with MTV (another one of Viacom’s subsidiaries), was given new leadership, and had its budget tripled, inevitably transforming opportunities, strategies, and, in turn, content (Moss, 2003). This acquisition is described as “a country music turned southern entertainment channel,” with CMT beginning to resemble MTV more than ever before (“Viacom”). Shari Anne Brill, vice president and director of programming services at Carat USA Inc., claims, “It’s had an unbelievable makeover from what it was.” (Moss, 2003).
The changes brought about by the acquisition largely benefited CMT. The new parent company also opened the door for CMT to utilize Viacom’s pre-established advertising relationships to help market beyond their specified audiences. Viacom’s experience and aggressive strategies resulted in a 34% increase in prime-time household television spots and 12 million new subscribers from 2001 to 2002 (Larson, 2002). In addition, new approaches raised CMT’s rating by 33% from 2002 to 2003 (Moss, 2003).